#stichopus

[animalids]

Eye-spotted sea cucumber (Stichopus ocellatus)

Photo by Loh Kok Sheng

[todropscience]

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms which means their are closely related to starfish and urchins. They are typically 10 to 30 cm in length, although the smallest known species is just 3 mm long, and the largest grows up to 3 m. As their name suggests, most sea cucumbers have a soft, cylindrical and elongated body.

Released in 14 Dec 2015 in the journal Zookeys, the new species, found in the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia, at a depth of 6–8 m, is a member of this genus and its name is derived from the Latin words of fusiform (fusiformis) and bone (ossa).  According to the study, the new species Stichopus fusiformiossa has unusual fusiform spicules in the tentacles, which are not found in the other species of the genus.

Many sea cucumbers are valued as food and as a source of medicine, and Stichopus is a commonly exploited genus.

Sea cucumbers can be found everywhere on the ocean floor but in remarkable high numbers on the deep seafloor, where they often make up the majority of the animal biomass. At depths larger than 8.9 km, sea cucumbers comprise 90% of the total mass of the macrofauna. Sea cucumbers form large herds that move at the bottom of the ocean, hunting for food.

Reference (Open Access) Pinn Woo et al 2015. Sea cucumbers of the genus Stichopus Brandt, 1835 (Holothuroidea,Stichopodidae) in Straits of Malacca with description of a new species. ZooKeys